Nutrition Articles

Making Your Free Day Work for You

The Free Day is something that makes the Body-for-LIFE nutrition plan unique. One day a week, you have the option to indulge in all the “unauthorized” food of your choice. Pizza, French fries, ice cream, cake and cookies… it is up to you. The logic behind this is that a weekly day of unrestricted eating helps you combat the cravings you may experience during the rest of the week. In other words, it may be easier to say “no” to that donut at the Tuesday morning meeting if you know you can have as many donuts as you want on your scheduled Free Day. A Free Day is also an opportunity to remind you of how you used to feel when you ate those foods all the time. After six days of fueling your body with lean sources of protein, whole-grain carbs and healthy fats, indulging in a fast-food meal on your Free Day may not be as satisfying as it used to be. Here is how else you can use the Free Day to your advantage:

Save it for your Free Day. If you have a challenge making the right choices at restaurants during the week, try to save eating out for your Free Day.

Shop on your Free Day. Some people found it easier to do all their shopping for the week on their Free Days. After you’ve indulged in the your favorite foods, it should be easier to make healthy choices at the grocery store.

Plan ahead. If there is a specific event during the week when you know will make it hard to stick with your nutrition plan, such as a birthday party, business dinner or a holiday, re-schedule your Free Day so that it falls on that day.

Indulge the right way. Make the most of the treats you crave, and take the time to enjoy them. You may eventually find you need less of them to be satisfied. If you’re going to have chocolate, enjoy a piece of decadent dark chocolate. If you want ice cream, savor the full-fat version instead of a low-fat substitute packed with a bunch of chemicals. Have you been dreaming about a hamburger and French fries all week? Sit down and enjoy the best you can find instead of rushing through a drive-thru.

Freedom of choice. How you use your Free Day is up to you. Some past Champions chose to just have a free meal, other Champions chose to forgo their Free Days altogether. You may find that how you use your Free Day changes during the course of your Challenge. In the beginning, it may be an all-out free-for-all, but as you become accustomed to how good it feels to eat healthy food, you may find that you no longer crave the junk food you used to look forward to.

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